The Joint Representation of Bishops and Political Authorities in the Mosaics of Ravenna

What is it about?

The joint representation of bishops and political authorities is very rare in late antique art, a particular phenomenon that can be observed in the mosaics of Ravenna, capital of the Western Roman Empire since 402, then of the Ostrogothic kingdom since 493, and finally of the Ravenna Exarchate since the second half of the 6th century. Through the analysis of both the written sources, in particular the Liber Pontificalis Rauennatis of Andreas Agnellus in the ninth century, and the mosaics of Ravenna, this paper examines this particular representation, the phenomenalisation of which has been neglected by scholars. We have analysed the different early Christian monuments of Ravenna: San Lorenzo, San Giovanni Evangelista, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, San Vitale and Sant'Apollinare in Classe, from the fifth to the seventh century. From the middle of the sixth century, as the mosaics of San Vitale testify, the ecclesiastical leaders began to appear alongside the sovereigns, as collaborators. This model of the joint representation of an ecclesiastical leader and his political interlocutor is confirmed by the mosaic of Sant'Apollinare in Classe or even that of Saint Demetrios in Thessaloniki.

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Photo by Sandra Dempsey on Unsplash

Photo by Sandra Dempsey on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This article offers an overall vision of the joint representation of bishops and political authorities in the mosaics of Ravenna, a rare artistic phenomenon in Late Antiquity. It has also provided the authors' precious personal iconographic apparatus, showing the details of Ravenna's world heritage.